Castlevania World Tour
Written: Oct 21 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great Game
Cons: Sprites a little small, a name issue
The Bottom Line: My final recommendation is that any fans of action games with a genesis should check this out, its not as good as CIV, but it's still excellent.
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| flash-hammer's Full Review: Castlevania: Bloodlines for Sega Genesis |
Because it's near Halloween, I decided to make all my reviews from today until the big day horror/monster related in some way. No real reason, other than I think it will be fun
Castlevania: Bloodlines, or 'The New Generation' as it's known in Europe, was, as far as I'm aware, the first venture off a Nintendo console for Konami's trademark vampire hunting adventure, and possibly the first to take the main characters far away from Transylvania.
Released in the console's best days in the early-to-mid 90s, Bloodlines allows you to choose between two characters, John Morris, son of one of Dracula's killers and current descendant of the Belmont clan of vampire hunters, so therefore wielding the trademark whip, and Eric Lecarde, a Spaniard out for revenge due to the death of his girlfriend at the hands of the forces of the night. The story involves a witch summoning Countess Elisabeth Bartly, a female vampire, whose goal it is the bring back Dracula, Prince of Darkness, from his current docile state. As the Belmont descendant, it's in John's blood, and his friend Eric comes along to help. However, instead of just scaling the towers of Castlevania, they are going to have to traverse Europe, from the mysteriously re-emerged Atlantis next to Greece, the leaning tower of Pisa,a Parisian palace and the factories of Munich, all in all 6 stages of action, which start and end in the Dark one's castle domain. Bartly aims to bring Drac back by causing what would become the first world war, because the suffering and death will make him all powerful, but as we all know, a man with a whip has stopped him before.
While the story is actually pretty good for a Castlevania, elaborating on the plot ( at the time this was the first even remotely modern set game, and also the first to change the main character from a Belmont). I love how they chose to tie it into Dracula, but the question arises if the folks at Konami actually read the book (this is one of the few occasions I get to be a literature Nazi, Dracula is one of about 3 'proper' books I have read). The text in italics contains spoilers for the book, if you are planning on reading it and don't want to know the end, skip ahead a bit:
In the book, Dracula is killed by two men, John Harker, the book's closest thing to a main character, and Quincy Morris, a suitor of Harker's wife's deceased best friend. Morris is killed in the battle, and as a testament, Harker and his wife name their son after him. Apparently Konami got mixed up. It should be Quincy Harker, not John Morris, Quincy didn't have a kid!, if they had got this right they would have had an excellent link to the most famous vampire story of all, and even added to it, in that it would have meant Harker would have been a Belmont descendant. Oh Well
The gameplay is your standard Castlevania platforming action, with the difference being as well as the standard 'whipper' character, we now have spearman Eric. Both have different talents, for instance Eric can use his spear to vault great heights, yet John can hook his whip on scenery and swing accross ledges on it.
For those unaware of what the Castlevania titles play like, it's a platform game, with a horror setting, with power ups that can be collected by hitting candles which drop a variety of items, each with different effects.
You can collect projectile/secondary weapons, which require jewels to perform, the jewels themselves, health, and power ups for your weapons.
On the whole, the Castlevania way of play is legendary for a reason, and play this and you will see why. It's one of those games, like Nintendo's Mario titles, where the gameplay is so basic and simple, yet superb and enjoyable, but you can't really explain why. It's pointless trying to talk about it to someone who has never experienced it, because to them it will just sound like your bog-standard 16-Bit platform game, but it's just so much...more. Longtime fans of the series will know what I mean, and can rest assured that this is a solid entry into the series.
The only real complaint with the gameplay is that at 6 stages, it is a little short. But this is made up for by the constant locale changes, which all have their own feel to them, and generally set it apart from the rest of the series, and I mean that in a good way. While I love the old castle as much as the next fan, change is nice when it's done well.
Graphically, the game is neither the best looking Castlevania, nor the best looking platformer for the console, with the main offender being small sprites, but they are well done sprites, and animated very well, and it has to be said that the backgrounds are, as you would expect, sublime. Each one instantly recognisable, and different depending on where it is set, each with their own unique and superb atmosphere. You get the feel of a huge, empty and lonely palace in the Paris stage, the thin space in the tower, and while the reflections in the water of the Atlantis stage may not seem like a big thing, they are pretty spectacular for the time. Generally, with the excepetion of the sprites being a little small, graphically there isn't anything to fault, although not all that much to fawn over either.
Given the console's poor reputation for sound, I feel Castlevania does well. The sound effects are decent, and the music is the usual superb gothic tunes that really set the mood. On point I have to pick up on, is that in the room with the stairs that lead up to your fight with Dracula, and the last room to collect items and such in, it plays the awesome 'Simon' theme, that is my personal favourite piece of series music, and one of my favourite game tunes ever. The way it kicks in before the final battle is just really quite cinematic, and a lovely touch from Konami.
Controls couldn't be easier. A is standard attack, B is jump and C uses your secondary weapon. No response issues, and the controls are generally sound.
On the whole, Bloodlines is a solid slice of Castlevania fun, with a nice selection of well designed enemies, great stages and awesome gameplay. Any Castlevania fan will want it in their collection, as will fans of platform and action games in general.
While I may have pointed out a few faults with the game, they are all pretty minor. A story flaw, the characters could have been bigger, not a lot of levels. But the fact is that no matter how many times I beat this game, I keep coming back to it and enjoying it every time. That is why it gets a flawless score. It never seems to get old. While it doesn't bring all that much new to the table, even for the series, there still cannot be any denial that this is an excellent platform game, that while not quite as good as games like Earthworm Jim, is still a definite want for anyone who likes action games and is into retro stuff.
While Castlevania Bloodlines may not change your perception of the platform/action genre, what it will do is provide you with a whole lot of entertainment, and a good piece of action from one of the gaming Royalties that definitely earned it's reputation.
Related Reviews
Super Castlevania IV for Super Nintendo
Recommended:
Yes
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